Apr 30, 2012

4 miles on the schedule today. Actually I had 3 on the schedule but I switched it up so I'll finish out 3 and 2 miles this week.

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Here's a recap of week #17 of 18 weeks of marathon training:

Miles Run: 24.14 miles

Days Run: 5 days

Cross Training: None

Time Run: 3 hours and 27 minutes

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This past week was another taper week. My weekly runs have reduced in length and my last long run that I did on Saturday was only 8 miles and I tried to throw in a few more hills. That's it - I'm pretty much ready or not to run the Flying Pig. I've only got three runs this week including today's 4 miler, a 3 and 2 miler then I'm resting for Thursday through Saturday. The big day is Sunday at 6:30am.

I'll use the rest days to worry like crazy try and calm myself and be mentally prepared to run a good race. I'm still freaking about the hills - I should have trained on more hills but what's done is done.

I'll post a recap of the race next week as well so you can see how I did or didn't do. It's looking like it might be a little warmer than I like it to be but a lot can change in a week. If you have been following my training for this marathon each week, thanks and I hope whatever training you are doing, this has helped you in some way.

Apr 29, 2012

Zensah contacted me recently inquiring if I'd be interested in doing a review of their compression socks. It actually proved to be a perfect time for me to do this review as I have been contemplating purchasing compression socks. I have always felt that compression gear is helpful in the recovery of your legs after running/exercise.

I can't comment on the last item as I have not been able to travel with them but I can attest that the Zensah compression socks do everything else they have listed. My plan is to wear these after my next marathon next week for the five hour drive home immediately after the marathon. I have worn these daily since I received them and they certainly make a difference in how my legs feel. They really help those nagging little stresses in your legs that you sometimes feel after a run.

The Zensah Fabric is thermal-regulating, moisture wicking and ultra breathable. I have typically worn these from the time I go to bed until my run in the morning. They are very comfortable. I like the fact that they also have compression through my feet as well as up to my calf.

I feel great when I go out for my next run and since I started marathon training about 18 months ago(for several marathons), my legs get beat up running four days in a row. The difference when I don't wear the compression socks is amazing. I've also worn them after my workout and they help to massage my legs throughout the day. I also like the extra support that these compression socks give my on my feet. You can feel the extra support.

See the extra support on the achilles

Personally, I did not like wearing them during a run. I know many of you do like to use them while running, but I just could not get used to using them while running. Perhaps I just need to get used to them more. They do stay in place so running with them is not an issue. It's just not what I'm comfortable with.

I would recommend purchasing a pair to try them for yourself. I think you will find that if your legs are feeling a bit stressed from training for any type of race, these will help. Specifically, they helped me on my calf and also on my achilles.

Feels great on the calf and shin

I have finished some runs and felt like I would not be able to run the next day but after a night in the compression socks, I did not have any issues running again. There have been times previously that I had to take an extra rest day.

Interested in learning more? Zensah sells many other compression products as well.

Apr 27, 2012

With all the changes that Google is making, I thought I'd remind everyone that there are other ways to follow Detroit Runner. I would encourage all of you to follow me one of these ways going forward.

1) Facebook page - I set up a Facebook page awhile ago. Sometimes I make additional comments on this page. Mostly my blog posts transfer to Facebook to alert you there is a new post. Click HERE to "like" Detroit Runner.

2) Twitter page - I set up Twitter the same time as Facebook. Again, all my posts get posted here and I will occasionally add additional comments as well. Click HERE to follow @Detroitrunner1.

3) Follow through RSS feed/E-mail. You can read it through RSS and you can sign up to receive an e-mail with my post that you can read from your e-mail. Click HERE to follow that way.

4) Follow through Google+. At this time, this is not a good way to follow Detroit Runner. Until Google can get their act together so that it will not show my full name, I have not connected my blog to it but have set up Detroit Runner in Google+

So there it is, ways to follow me easily and automatically. Of course, you can always go directly to the blog too. I put these in the order of how I'd like to see you follow me. I think Facebook and Twitter are the best ways. From what I know, at the end of the year, Google Friend Connect will go away so these will likely be the only options.

Apr 26, 2012

4 miles on the schedule today.....done and I used the Petzl Tikka 2 XP headlamp to light my way!

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As discussed in a previous post, I contacted Petzl regarding doing a review on one of their headlamps. This is the second headlamp that they sent me for review. Retail price: $54.99. It's the Petzl Tikka 2 Headlamp. Take a look:

As with the other review I did on the MYO RXP , this has a similar quality to it. By that I mean, it's a great quality product but the price point is much lower. As you know, there are many headlamps to choose from out there and each has it's purpose. While I feel the MYO RXP is for the serious night runner and specifically great for really dark situations, the Tikka 2 XP is still for the serious night runner but it has a little less power to it. It should be your "goto" headlamp for your average night run. That's not to say that you can't see or that cars cannot see you, because in my experience, cars were well aware of my coming down the road - it's just less light.

The brightness on this is 68 meters long with 80 lumens. That's a long distance and more than enough light for most running situations. It also allows for up to 190 hours of power so you will not have to change batteries very often. You can use regular alkaline or rechargeable batteries. Even on the brightest mode there is 80 hours of power. There is also a battery level indicator that will tell you when the batteries are at 50% or less left - a nice feature so you are not stuck out in the dark in the middle of nowhere running without light. There is 5 lighting modes: Bright, medium, flashing, red constant and red flashing. I have been using the bright mode the entire time I have run with it and it has been a great source of light to see when running and safety for cars coming towards you.

There is also a wide angle lens that is easily changed with a flip of the plastic notch. Frankly, I have been using it primarily on the focused lighting more as it seems to throw off more light in my opinion. Along with the wide angle, you can also adjust the headlamp in order to point the light straight or down depending on your preference.

Here's a couple close ups so you can see the details in the light:

In regards to weight, this is a very light unit at only 88 grams including the three triple A batteries that come with the unit. Once adjusted properly, this unit stays in place and you do not notice it on your head. The unit is also water resistant to IP X4 standards - again, no worries in rain/sweat but it's not waterproof. I have run in every type of weather there is with it and it performed flawlessly. It can be used up to 140 degrees and down to minus 22 degrees - more range than I think anyone would use this and I'm a hardcore outdoors runner.

One really awesome feature that I think is great(especially for the ladies that run at night) is the whistle buckle. At the back of the band, the buckle doubles as a built in whistle. It's a fantastic design that does not detract from the looks and adds an extra level of safety. Frankly, I didn't even notice it until a couple days ago(I guess I should read the directions more) Plus --- it's LOUD and it's one less thing to carry. A great tool just in case someone sneaks up on you God forbid or you get lost in the woods.

A great safety feature for the ladies(or anyone really)

I liked the Tikka 2 XP so much that it's now become my daily headlamp to use given all the great features this headlamp has to offer. Because of it's very reasonable price, you have no excuses not to run outside at night. This should be a staple in every runners gear.

I had 20 entries for this giveaway. Frankly, I'm surprised that more people did not want to read the book. Anyway, purely at random, the winner is Karly. Lucky #13

Congratulations Karly - Since I could not find any information on you, please contact me via e-mail with your address and I'll get the book out to you. You have until Sunday 12 noon to contact me or another winner will be chosen.

Apr 25, 2012

Just a reminder, if you are interested in entering the Alberto Salazar book giveaway, you have until 7pm today to enter. Click HERE

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So my question of the day is why are there not other race distances as a general rule. There's the typical 1 mile, 5k, 10k, half marathon and full marathon. Even the 50k, 50 mile, 100k and 100 miler seems standard in Ultra running. And then many of us have seen the 5 miler, 15k, the 10 miler, or the 25k but on a lesser quantity.

Remember Wacky Races growing up?

Why isn't there more 17.4 mile runs? Ok, I just picked that number out of my head but, you know what I'm saying? I think some of these races could capitalize on the fact that runners are looking for PR's. It's an instant PR with a new race distance. I've got one in mind for a race I'm considering planning but I'll keep that one a surprise.

Apr 24, 2012

4 miles on the schedule today....done! Legs are feeling good and ready.

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Short Version

Finishing time: 1:47:41
Overall place - 370 out of 2,142
Men overall place - 280 out of 941
Men(40-44) place - 47 out of 139

Great race, loved the course overall, would do the race again.

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Long Version

I started out very early with this race on Sunday. The alarm went off at 3:15am. Actually, I did not sleep well so the alarm actually did not wake me since I was up before the alarm went off. I did my usual pre-race routine including eating a banana and two granola bars. I had to be at my running buddy's, T, home at 4:15am. Yikes!

Got there and he was ready and waiting for me. It's a fairly far distance - about an hour and 30 minutes to get down to Toledo. Overall the drive was uneventful except the fact that we found out that the exit to where you went to the race was closed for construction. We ended up taking the next exit and back tracking to the race start. It would have been nice if the race director told us that the exit was closed especially for those out of towner's coming in the morning of the race.

We got in the exact parking spot that we wanted and got there about 6am. The timing actually worked perfect. We went to the registration to get our bibs. There was an expo the day before so many of the people had already received their packet so it made things very easy. Here's what the shirt looked like:

Cool race shirts

The start was right on the campus of University of Toledo. I was really surprised with how nice the campus was.

University of Toledo

The registration was in their basketball arena called the John F. Savage arena just across the street from our car.

John F. Savage Arena

The half marathon did not start until 7am so we had time to go to the bathroom, take our stuff back to the car and get back to the arena where we were able to stay inside until just before the race started. While there was port-o-potties, we were able to use a real bathroom inside the arena.

We moved to the starting line at 6:45am so there was not much time waiting around. I know it seems like we started very early(and we did) but overall this worked out great. The race started just next to their football stadium on one of the campus roads.

The race started a few minutes after 7am and we were off. The first half mile or so was around campus and then we headed out to the subdivisions in the area. Wow - Toledo is a really nice place to live. The homes in the area were huge and really well maintained! There were people from the homes out to cheer us on but not a huge support. I will say that the volunteers and spectators that did come were helping in cheering us on to keep us moving along.

After around mile seven, we headed into the Wildwood Preserve Metropark. Another awesome area to run in for a race. The trails were paved and was a really nice path. Unfortunately we were only in this about a mile and a half but what we did run of it was nice. After the park is where we turned off from the marathoners and headed back to the finish line. It was a paved bike trail that went along the rail road track. I did hear the train once but was not sure where it was. This part of the race was kind of boring since it was a straightaway but I got through it well. This took us from about 8.5 miles to just over 12 miles.

After 12 miles, we headed back towards the campus. With the last mile or so, we finished on the football field of the Glass Bowl Stadium. It was a fantastic finish and they had a video of you finishing going on the big screen as you entered the finish line and called your name as well. Here's what it looked like:

Glass Bowl

One of the best ways to finish a race in my opinion! Total running time of 1:47:41. The course overall was flat with a few minor elevation changes. While it was not even close to one of my fastest races but, I had a great time and did not try to kill myself on the course for speed. I did, however, have a nice negative split with my first mile being 8:43 and my last being 7:34.

Once we crossed the finish line, we got our medal and a bottle of water. The medal was nice and you also got a glass finisher's mug which was nice and it's the first mug I have received at a race. As an added bonus, you got as much free beer in it that you wanted - seriously! Take a look:

Nice Medal

Cool Finisher Mug!

After you got out of the stadium, there were bagels, pizza, pizza bread, beer, apple slices from Subway and bananas to eat. Plenty of food and drink to go around. Since I can't stomach pizza and beer at 9am, I opted for a bagel, banana and water.

T and I got separated since we always run our own race. He finished just about 6 minutes behind me but I missed him at the finish line and searched about 15 minutes looking for him but he eventually found me and we were off to drive back to Detroit. Our hands were still really cold so we stopped at McDonalds to order some nice hot coffee. It felt nice to get warm again. Here's my traditional post race picture of me at home:

As you can see, my mileage this week went down over 10 miles for the week. I had a fairly easy running schedule that reduced my mid week longer run to 6 miles. I did another half marathon yesterday at the Glass City Marathon in Toledo, Ohio. It was a great event. I'll have a detailed review tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to another reduced week of running with only 24 miles planned for the week. Even my long run is only 8 miles this weekend. Piece of cake!!!

If I have time, I might go and spectate at a local race in Mt. Clemens. It's the Let's Move Festival of Races. I'm not a big fan of the race, but I do enjoy spectating once in awhile and since I can't join them, maybe I'll watch. I usually bring my big Cow Bell - you know, the one from Saturday Night Live?

The next week will be another nice break in the lower miles. It's hard to believe in less than two weeks I'll be running marathon #3 in State #2. Another thing that I do is watch what I'm eating more since I'm not running in excess of 40 miles a weeks now. I don't want to tack on anymore weight than I have already gained through training. Actually, I've only gained about 3 pounds during the training - hopefully most of it being muscle. Ha, yeah, right!

Apr 21, 2012

Why is it that companies always feel they need to "upgrade" their look? I'm talking about the new blogger application look. I don't like it. I like the old one. I like the fact that they gave you a choice to use the old interface and could use the new interface if you like. I find it much easier to use the old interface.

Google, bring it back, please.

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One the running front, I've got my next half marathon, the Glass City Half Marathon, tomorrow morning. It's looking pretty cold - 42 at start with 33 realfeel temp; even the end is 48 and 42 realfeel temp. Winds of 10-15 mph. Long sleeves and long pants for me. That's mighty cold compared to last weeks half marathon where I was wearing shorts. Haha! Oh well, at least it's not supposed to rain.

Apr 20, 2012

I wanted to remind everyone that is thinking of running the Solstice Run on June 23rd that the price of the race will go up today!!!!

Right now you can register for for the following races:

10 mile Kona Run - $45(1,000 maximum entries)

10k Aloha Run - $40(1,300 maximum entries)

5k Honolulu Run - $35(No limit)

Maui Mile - $20(No limit)

The races will go up $5 each tomorrow except the Maui Mile which will go up $2. If you are considering running this great event, you might as well get the best price. In addition, the races have a limited number of spots to register(see above)

Be sure to sign up as it's the 10th anniversary of the run so they are giving away an Enbroidered Cap for the 10 mile, 10k and 5k runners in addition to Kona Running Company's usual awesome swag.

As I've discussed before, this will be my third time running this 10 mile race. Sign up and run it with me. It was my PR for the 10 mile last year at 1:20:15.

For those who have not run the 10 mile, here's the course:

Click to see larger

Or if you are not up for the 10 miler, choose the 10k, 5k or 1 mile race. The Solstice is the only race that I've run three years in a row. That is say something considering I've run 25 races. The organization is excellent, the course is fantastic, the volunteers are welcoming, the crowd is unbelievable. Also, the expo at the end of the race is awesome and a unique and great way to finish. It all starts at the Northville Downs racetrack where you get to run a lap of the track to start off your race.

Apr 19, 2012

I contacted Petzl a couple months ago to see if I could do a review of one of their headlamps. They actually sent me two headlamps so I will do a review on each headlamp in a different review. The first one they sent me was their premium model, the Petzl MYO RXP Headlamp. Retail price of $89.95. This is the granddaddy of the headlamps. This is for the serious night runners. This thing is heavy duty. As most of you know, I do 80% of my running in the dark starting about 5am so even in summer it's dark for most of my runs. I would consider myself a serious night runner! Ha!

Take a look. You get the headlamp and also an extra strap to go over the top of your head.

Here's a better picture of it close up:

As you can see there is a battery compartment in the back of the headlamp. Because the lamp is so powerful, it takes three AA batteries. At first, I thought that it would be too heavy to wear and would bounce around but you don't even notice you have it on. It's has a very comfortable fit to it. It stays in place nicely when running. I did not even need to use the extra strap that goes on top of your head but I can see why Petzl includes it in the packaging.

The lamp is rated for use up to 95 hours on the lower settings. I actually used it mostly on the higher settings not only to see well but so that cars could see me coming a mile away. The headlamp has a light output up to 160 Lumens in the boost mode(for even more light) but an always on mode of up to 140 Lumens. In order words, this thing is crazy bright. Comparatively speaking, it's about double the light output of a normal headlamp. Normally on another headlamp I use, I also use a separate blinking red light but I did not feel the need for it because you could see cars moving away from me as they got closer to where I was running(opposite of traffic). The unit will shine about 77 meters. That's over half a football field length away!!!

The headlamp has several modes that you can put this into including basically high, medium, low and blinking. Within these modes, you can program the unit to be less bright or more bright. In the flashing mode, you can program it to be slow, fast or even give the SOS signal(a great feature if you're on the trails or a remote area) In addition, you are able to adjust the light to a large area like a flood lamp or a focused area. I primarily used the large area. I could certainly see a great use of using this if you are always running trails at night when there is no other light around. You will be able to see the trail very clear to keep you from falling.

I would say that you probably do not need to use this on the high mode especially since it will go through the batteries much faster. About 50 hours on high mode, although I did not quite get 50 hours out of the batteries that came with the unit but the new batteries I put in it seem to be standing up to this. This would be a perfect headlamp for an ultramarathon that would be several days/stages without worry of batteries going out. There is also an indicator to tell you when the batteries are getting low.

The light is also adjustable so you can have it facing directly out in front of you or you can move it down more towards you. The band on the headlamp is very easy to adjust with one easy pull in or out. In addition, I was able to use the light in all weather conditions - snow, rain, very cold, hot and it performed flawlessly. It was actually sent to me in the perfect time given the change of seasons. It's also waterproof to IP X4 - basically great for in the rain and sweat but not under water.

Here's a couple close up's. You can see that there is a filter on the light to make it a flood light or a pinpoint. Just flip it up or down depending on what you want.

Here is a close up on the battery compartment. You can also see that there is a cord going from the battery compartment to the headlamp in the front. With the batteries, this weighs about 6.2 oz. I know that it sounds like it's heavy, and it is heavier than their other headlamps, but it's still very comfortable to wear. Plus, given all the light it throws off, I'm willing to accept more weight for the sake of being seen even better.

You can see in this picture, the two orange buttons on the top of the light. These are used to turn the headlamp on and off, program it and use the boost mode on it. This also gives you a good idea of how the lamp will tilt with one simple movement.

Here's a picture I took just before going out for a cold run. As you can see, even though the unit itself looks large, it's not really that big at all but so powerful.

When I took this picture below, it was pitch black so it gives you an idea of how bright the headlamp is. Amazing!

Below is a picture I took before I actually went running in it with my cap on. Many people probably don't use their cap and their headlamp together but it works great and you can position the tilt of the lamp so you can get it where you can see well with it even with the bill of the hat sticking out. The reason I use both is that I the hat helps with sweat and if it's raining.

Haha! This is a picture of me trying to show you what it looks like from the back with the battery compartment. As I said, it does not move around so you don't notice it at all. It also rests nicely against your head so it stays in place.

I logged at least 20-25 runs with this, mostly runs under 8 miles, and it has worked great and made me feel much safer on the streets. It's unfortunate, but early in the morning, people do not pay attention so you need a headlamp so that you can be seen when running. I never run in the dark without one.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. I think that the unit is best suited for people that run in the dark in remote areas where there is no other light around. Not everyone needs the power of this light but it does keep you safe. You won't be able to live without it once you use it. It is a little more costly than some of Petzl's other options but I think most of you will see the quality and strong power will be worth the extra expense to keep you safe.